Something Shiny by weaverknits

I conceived this tunic when swatching some Elizabeth Lavold Hempathy that a friend of mine gave me - colors that are bright enough to evoke warmth and sun, but not so bright as to be unflattering. This friend has good taste in color! For warm-weather items, I prefer simple and comfortable over ornate, and pictured something striped, with a bit of waist shaping, that hits at the bottom of the hip for full tummy coverage (something that I find problematic with summer shirts)!

The tunic is knit in the round to the armholes, where the front and back are divided and worked separately to the shoulders. After the shoulder seams are sewn, stitches are picked up along the neck and a slouchy cowl is knit in the round. The cowl is edged with a few rounds of beads, which serve as both adornment and as weight to keep the cowl nice and drapey. The beads at the neck are echoed in a round of beads at the hem.

Abbreviations

b1( Bead 1): Push bead to end of working yarn, at front of work. Purl stitch. Bead should be on front side of work, before the p st just worked.

Stripe Pattern: The number of rows in each of the 6 stripes that make up the body is as follows: 28 (28, 30, 30, 32, 32). This makes for easy row counting.

Pattern Notes

This pattern is worked in the round from the bottom up to the armholes, at which point the front and back are worked separately, back and forth. After the shoulder seams are sewn, the stitches for the cowl neck are picked up and worked in the round.

Pattern

Body

Using Color A, pre-string 60 (68, 74, 82, 90, 98) beads in Color 1.

Using 24” circular needle, and Color A, CO 180 (204, 222, 246, 270, 294) sts. Join to work in the rnd, being careful not to twist. Pm at the beg of the rnd.

Armhole Shaping

Work 18 (18, 20, 20, 22, 22) rnds in Color A. Next row: BO 5 (5, 5, 6, 6, 7) sts. Work to first marker, then, keeping rem sts on circular needle (but not working them) or placing rem sts on a spare needle or length of waste yarn, turn and BO 5 (5, 5, 6, 6, 7) sts, then p to end of row. You are now working back and forth in St st on the front sts only.

**BO 2 (3, 3, 3, 3, 3) sts at beg of next 2 rows.

Dec 1 st on each end of next row and every other following row a total of 4 (4, 5, 6, 8, 8) times. A total of 68 (78, 85, 93, 101, 111) sts remain for front.

Working straight, complete the number of rows necessary for Stripe 4.

Cut Color A and join Color B. Working straight, complete the number of rows necessary for Stripe 5.

Rnd 19: *P2, b1, rep from * to end of rnd.Rnd 20 and all even-numbered rnds: KRnd 21: *B1, p2, rep from * to end of rnd.Rnd 23: P1, *b1, p2, rep from * until 2 sts rem, b1, p1.Rnd 25: *P2, b1, rep from * to end of rnd.Rnd 27: *B1, p2, rep from * to end of rnd.Rnd 28: K

BO all st loosely. The sewn BO is perfect.

Armhole Edging

With RS facing, using Color C and beginning at underarm, pick up and k 39 (39, 43, 43, 47, 47) sts along back of right armhole and 39 (39, 43, 43, 47, 47) sts along front of right armhole for a total of 78 (78, 86, 86, 94, 94) armhole sts. Pm to indicate beg of rnd.

P 1 round.
K 1 round.

BO all st loosely. The sewn BO is perfect.

Repeat for other armhole.

Finishing

Weave in ends. Block by washing in the machine (cold water or delicate wash) and laying flat to dry, or drying until nearly dry in the dryer and removing while slightly damp to lay flat. Pin bottom hem if necessary to keep it from curling.

After the initial blocking, it is possible to wash and dry your garment in the machine, using a cold water or delicate wash and low heat on the dryer. Whether you’ve used hemp or linen, your garment will soften with washing.

About the Designer: Ann Weaver

Ann Weaver, former Assyriologist and Administrative Professional, works odd jobs and designs knitwear. Other members of the Weaver family provide inspiration and feedback on Ann’s designs.